13 March 2017

Trump, Largan and ‘alternative facts’ in Sands End

Donald Trump may not have many fans among Hammersmith &
Fulham’s residents but he’s got one among the local Tories if Cllr Robert
Largan’s peddling of an “alternative fact” to his constituents is anything to
go by.

In an email to bemused Sands End residents, Largan has made the
remarkable claim: ‘Labour’s attitude to Sands End was recently revealed
in a report…outrageously describing the area as “a region of poverty
and squalor”.’

Shocking stuff. But perhaps not quite the way Cllr Largan
intended.

The phrase “a region of
poverty and squalor” is actually from a2004Character Profile of Studdridge Street
by council officers – a profile that was itself referring to the area in the
early 1900s:

Sadly, what Cllr Largan forgot to tell residents is that he
and his Conservative colleagues actually voted against the 33 new Sands End
homes(again, see 17.2here).

Yup, Robert Largan voted against new
social housing – which H&F Conservatives didn't build, hence the crying
need now – and abused the related planning document to trumpet an easily
disproved “alternative fact” about Labour.